


In which destiny has a strange way of bringing people together

by Latart0903



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Zuko is Awkward, like you're surprised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 01:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13423929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latart0903/pseuds/Latart0903
Summary: Suki and Zuko actually met months before Zuko set fire to her village on Kyoshi Island.





	In which destiny has a strange way of bringing people together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nele](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nele/gifts).
  * Inspired by [People in the mirror are closer than they appear](https://archiveofourown.org/works/339401) by [Nele](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nele/pseuds/Nele). 



> This is a short fic inspired by Nele’s [People in the mirror are closer than they appear](http://archiveofourown.org/works/339401/chapters/549142) which is one of my all time favorite Avatar fics that details Zuko’s relationship with Lieutenant Jee in the months preceding Season 1. It’s incredibly well-written and hilarious but dark at the same time.  
> I loved Suki’s cameo at the end of the last chapter as Zuko, who has run out of funds, strikes a deal to sell all of his Avatar memorabilia for cold-weather supplies for one last chance. One last expedition to the South Pole. I’ve always wondered as to whether these two ever had a conversation while they prepared Zuko’s ship at Kyoshi Island. I’ve also been intrigued by the way the comics have been positioning these two characters and hinting at a future relationship.

These meetings were always so boring. Suki couldn’t even remember who the hell the person was that was ranting about Zuko’s newly proposed taxes to improve the infrastructure of the provinces beyond Caldera. She reminded herself that, technically, this ranting idiot could attack the Fire Lord at any moment; although she’d personally searched the visiting delegate so, unless he was adept at stabbing through armor with the handle of a calligraphy brush, she really had nothing to worry about. Regardless, this was her duty so she brought her attention back to the room and the various politicians negotiating at the table. 

 

As usual, her focus always fell on Zuko. His forced poise. His diplomatic demeanor hiding the annoyed rage boiling in the depths of his veins. He’d unleash later in the courtyard off of his private quarters while she stood guard. Occasionally they’d spar or he would teach her how to use his broadswords. But those particular sessions were growing more and more infrequent as his schedule overflowed with seemingly unending travel and meetings.

 

Suki wondered if Zuko would ever notice her the way she wanted him to. Look at her the way he looked at Mai or… 

 

The way he had looked at the captain of his ship, back when she’d first met the boy who became the man she now protected with her own life. 

 

It was hard to believe that boy was the same person who’d carelessly set her village ablaze and called her a little girl. And even then, both of those people were vastly different from the man seated before her.

 

She remembered shrieking insults and calling him a monster as the same vessel that had been docked at her island months earlier, sailed away from the shores of Kyoshi in pursuit of the Avatar’s bison. The smell of smoldering wood burned her nostrils and soured in the back of her throat. She swore to never trust a firebender again... 

 

Destiny has a funny way of fucking with people.

 

\-----

 

-Four years earlier-

 

Suki nervously toyed with the scroll in her hand as she walked down the dock to speak with the prince: a cranky and introverted boy a year or two older than she was. His ship, the Yuan, had been anchored at Kyoshi Island for the past three weeks in preparation for a journey to the South Pole. She’d only briefly spoken with the boy a few times. He generally kept to himself while the rest of his crew enjoyed themselves in Kyoshi Island’s markets during the day and its taverns during the night. 

 

The boy was seated at the edge of the dock, letting his legs dangle off the side, lost in thought. He stared intently at the water as the sky darkened with the setting sun. She approached on his right side, the unscarred side, not because it disgusted her or made her uncomfortable, but because she thought that he likely had better vision and hearing on his “good” side.

 

She cleared her throat in case he hadn’t noticed her footsteps coming down the dock. “I have the final list of inventory that was loaded onto your ship. The first mate cross-checked all of the supplies but General Iroh thought that I should bring the list to you. He said you’d probably want to review it yourself.” For some reason, the older man had repeatedly and enthusiastically encouraged her to approach his nephew multiple times during their stay.

 

The prince stole a quick glance over and the scar peeked from behind the bridge of his nose. His haunting amber eyes flickered, reflecting the lantern lights. Silently, he snatched the scroll from her gloved hands and unrolled it to scan over the final list of supplies. It was an itemized list of all of the Avatar scrolls Zuko had traded along with the value they had agreed upon. A second column detailed the cold-weather supplies her island had provided in return. 

 

Suki had something else for Zuko but wasn’t sure about giving it to him. It had seemed like a good idea an hour ago but she didn’t know why she suddenly felt self-conscious in his presence. Hesitantly, she took a seat next to the prince and studied his regal profile. And then her eyes drifted up to his hairline; she smiled to herself when she found evidence to verify her suspicions. There were a few nicks on the side of his shaved head amid a week’s worth of dark stubble. She untied a small pouch from her belt containing a bar of shaving soap made with local seaweed, a new leather strop, and a jar of stropping compound she’d picked up before the market closed.

 

“I um… also grabbed these for you. Looks like you could use them. I’m guessing that shaving your head with a dull razor is pretty uncomfortable,” she added as she handed the pouch over.

 

Zuko raised his “good” eyebrow and looked at her as if offended; the look quickly vanished as he realized that upkeep of his high-maintenance hairstyle was more important than his perceived embarrassment of benefiting from an innocuous act of kindness. The boy obviously didn’t like receiving gifts or thinking that anyone was doing him any favors. Or maybe this sort of gesture was genuinely foreign to him. He accepted the pouch without saying anything.

 

_ OK...  _ “You’re welcome,” Suki prompted.  _ What is wrong with this kid? _

 

“Oh, um. Sorry... Thank you,” the boy mumbled. 

 

“I figured you probably go through supplies pretty quickly if you’re shaving most of your head like that. You can get this stuff in the South Pole but their shaving soap is usually made from tiger seal blubber and it smells kind of weird,” she said, wrinkling her nose and recalling the odor from some of the Water Tribe men who had traded said foul-smelling soap at the market.

 

The boy grunted. “What, did you steal these from Daddy?”

 

“My father left my mother and me a long time ago,” Suki answered matter-of-factly. 

 

The prince was unfazed by the personal revelation. Apparently her family issues paled in comparison to his. “Fine, whatever. Boyfriend, then?” he said.

 

“I don’t have a boyfriend. I just picked them up in the market. I don’t know- I thought you might need them.”

 

He inspected the contents of the pouch again and nodded. “I do,” he quietly admitted.

 

“Well... good luck on your expedition, I guess. What are you guys going to do down there, anyway?”

 

“None of your business,” Zuko snapped.

 

He was an odd one. However, Suki had noticed that there was no one else his age among the crew. It was probably difficult not having anyone to talk to or confide in. Suki wasn’t sure why she kept probing him with questions; perhaps she was just intrigued by this strange prince despite his severely awkward conversation skills. “How long have you been out on your ship?”

 

Zuko sighed. “Almost two-and-a-half years.”

 

Suki looked over her shoulder at the Yuan and noticed the captain, Lieutenant Jee, standing at the bow. Although his skin was weathered by the sea, the lines in his face didn’t quite match his gray hair and she guessed that he was probably one of the younger men aboard the ship. Even so, he had to be at least twice Zuko’s age. 

 

The captain gazed down at Suki .The look on his face was amused at first but morphed into something almost... possessive. Suki quickly looked away. “So… you’ve been sailing around with a bunch of old guys for two years?”

 

The prince furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to retort but stopped as he contemplated his...  _ delicate _ situation. “Yeah. More or less,” he answered with a rasp.

 

Suki snorted. “Sounds boring.”

 

“Maybe because you play with dress-up clothes and make up all day,” the boy snarked.

 

“I’m not playing dress-up. This is a  _ warrior’ _ s uniform,” Suki retorted defensively.

 

Zuko peered over at her again, lips quirked ever so slightly into a playful smirk. “If you say so.”

 

Suki scoffed. “Well, you should be familiar with Avatar Kyoshi based on all those scrolls you had. She wore the same makeup.”

 

The prince didn’t answer but kept the smirk fixed onto his face. His gaze drifted upwards and towards his ship. And then his smile faded. But his eyes softened with a look that resembled fondness. Or longing. “I, uh, need to get back to the ship. Looks like we’re almost ready to go.” Zuko paused and looked thoughtfully at the small pouch of shaving supplies. “Thanks again.”

 

Suki shrugged. “Don’t mention it. Hopefully they last you the winter. Have fun freezing your ass off in the South Pole.”

 

Zuko chuckled. That might have been the first time she’d heard him laugh. It sounded a little rusty. “Have fun with your makeup and sleepovers,” he teased.

 

“Oh, I will,” Suki played along, narrowing her eyes. “Have fun playing pai sho with the old guys.”

 

“I-” Zuko snapped his mouth shut and suddenly looked hurt. Or conflicted. Or…  _ something _ . He stood up and looked up at the ship again. The Lieutenant walked away and headed into the ship’s superstructure, probably to turn in for the night. 

 

Now looking at the prince straight on, the stark contrast of the scar across his left eye made the right side of his face appear even more stunningly perfect. As if the scar pointed out how flawless his face would have been otherwise. Suki tore her eyes away and looked down to push herself up to stand. She was startled to see the boy’s fair-skinned hand out of the corner of her eye, extended as a polite gesture to help her up. 

 

Normally she would’ve smacked the hand away and insisted that she was fine. But this boy seemed as though he constantly teetered on the verge of being insulted, so she accepted his hand. He pulled her up, then stiffly yanked his hand away, mumbled something that might have sounded like “see you,” and turned to walk down the dock.

 

She then watched him shove past his crew, board the ship, and walk in the direction the captain had headed. 

 

\-----

 

Zuko looked up at Suki with those same golden eyes. He rolled them with boredom while the province representative rambled on. 

 

Four years later, he’d outgrown some of his awkwardness.  _ Some. _ And his temper had improved considerably. Suki was glad that she had seen the human side of Zuko before he’d carelessly burnt her village to the ground. It was probably why she was able to forgive him so quickly at the Boiling Rock. But Suki suddenly felt saddened, wondering about the darker years of Zuko’s life. She just wanted him to be happy and find love again. She’d heard that Lieutenant Jee hadn’t survived the Siege of the North. 

 

Suki suspected that Zuko had also been briefly involved with Jet who periodically came up in conversation whenever “Team Avatar” got together. But that boy had died back in Ba Sing Se.

 

And then there was Mai but she came and went. And came and went.

 

Suki couldn’t help think that maybe one day, she would be more than just Zuko’s supportive friend and bodyguard. Maybe she would be the one to help make the boy’s much-deserved, life-long happiness a reality. 

 

Zuko’s lips turned upwards into a smile as he held her gaze. Suki’s heart fluttered while they shared the briefest of moments before he returned his attention to the meeting.

 

Destiny definitely has a way of fucking with people. But it also has a strange way of bringing people together.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I think I got most of the typos but sorry if there are any left.   
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
